Cleaning and separating machine.



N0. 783,571. PATENTED FEB. Z8, 1905. C. PRICKE.

CLEANING AND SEPARATING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 29, 1903.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

PATENTED FEB. 28, 1905.

C. IRICKI-l.V

CLEANING AND SEPARATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29,1903.

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.Patented Fe bruary 2e, 1905.

PnfrnNm Ormes.

HALF TO OSCAR l. l/VEBER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CLEAl'tllNt-t ANU SEFAPATIN@ MACHINE..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 783,571, dated February 28, 1905.

Application filed May 29, 1903. Serial No. 159,348.

To rtl?, whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHfAnLns Fermin, a citizen ofthe United States, residingl at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleaning and Separating Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the cleaning of material such as coffee, either green or roasted, grain, seeds, and other substances which are usually mingled with stalks, twigs, chat?, dust, and dirt, as well as with immature, dead, light, broken, and other defective berries.

'lhe object of my invention is to do more effective cleaning at a faster rate of speed, so that a greater quantity of material can be better cleaned in a given time than by machines new in general use.

'.lhe most important feature of my invention consists in agitating a body mass or flow of material by air-currents directed upwardly from below and at the same time removing` from the same light, defective, and. waste material by air-suction operating upwardly from above. rlhis principle is embodied in the machine illustrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter described.

A further object of the invention is to grade the cleaned material according to size, and hence I have illustrated such a grading' attachment in the said drawings and have described the same in this specilication.

Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of the whole machine. Fig. Qis a plan view broken away to show a partial horizontal section on line 1/ l/ of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a crosssectional elevation on line a' a' of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan View of the screens, partly brokenaway.v

A suitable framework for the machine is shown at .1. Supported thereby at or near the top is an air box or chamber 2, having' airpassages 3 leading to an air-suction apparatus. l prefer to use and have shown two suctionfans 4., one at each side of the machine and each connected to a trunk 5 for disclnirging air and dust or any other material carried by the aircurrents into the fans.

At the frontend of the machine a feed-inlet 6 for the material te be treated, which has a regulating-gate 7 for controlling the rate of the feed. Depending from the air-box isa series of vertical suction-legs 8, one of which is in direct communication with the feed-hopper and all of which have open lower ends.

Along one side of the machine extends a conveyer-casing 9, in which is journaled a screw conveyor 11. The casingterminates in a discharge-spout 12. Cooperating with and supplying this conveyer are transverse conveyors 13, whose casings 10 depend from the air-box and have the flaring inlets shown in, Fig. 1. Each of these inlets located near one of the suction-legs 8. From drivingpulleys 15 on a shaft 1st belts 16 drive the suction-fans, and a sprocket system, represented by the sprockets 1T 18, Fig. f2, derives motion from the same shaft and operates the crossconveyers. The longitudinal conveycr 11 is geared down from shaft 14 by the bevel-gears 19 2l.

Beneath the apparatus thus far described and suspended from the frame is a bed or shallow trough QQ, inclined downwardly toward the rear, which derives its vibration or end shake from an eccentric 23 on a shaft 2O or in some other suitable way. Above the frontend of this bed is a receiving-mouth having an inclined screen 2st, discharging toward the front of the l'nachine and which receives the greater part of material supplied to the machine. Instead of a screen a perforated plate can be used at this point, and the meshes or perforations must be large enough to pass all material which is to be ultimately saved, as well as inferior material ef the same kind. For example, both green and roasted coffee generally contain a proportion of small or dead er immature berries mingled with fragments of stalks or twigs, dust, dirt, broken berries, &c. A degree of separatimi and cleansing takes place in this part ol' the machine. Some light material is carried up the Iirst suction-leg 8 and is either carried to the suction-fans or falls into one of the cross- 1. conveyers. '.lfwigs, &c., which will not pass l the screen Qfllare shaken from the same toward the front; but all material heavy enough to escape the first air-current and small enough to pass through the screen 24 is received upon the bed 22, isdistributed over its surface, and is moved in the direction of its downward ineline. At intervals in the extent of the bed are air-openings, which may be fine perforations or screen-sections 25, situated beneath the open lower ends of the suction-legs 8. Beneath each section 25 is a transverse airchamber 26, having a valved communication 27 with the closed dischargepipe 28 ofv a pressure-blower 29. rlhe pipe has a Hexible connection 3l to the nozzle of the blower to permit the end shake. The gates or valves 32 are used to accurately regulate the force of the upward air-pressure relatively to the kind of material passing over the air-openings, its specific gravity, and the nature of the impurities and waste or defective stuff mingled with it. By the employment of this pressureblower I obtain a much more effective separating and cleaning action than is possible where suction is used alone. As the coffee passes over each screen-section 25 it is thoroughly agitated by the air-current from below. This current is not sufiicient to blow the heavy berries upward; but the agitation from below does render the suction above more e'ective in raising from the mass or flow the light, dead, and defective berries and in carrying them up and through the suctionlegs 8. Thence they fall into the conveyors 13, by which they are delivered to the conveyer 8 and discharged. The pressure and suction thus cooperate in the treatment of the material, producing a result of which neither is capable alone. For example, in the case of coffee no machine in present use will, so far as I am aware, completely remove the dead beans and live black beans, which are always present in green coffee and which when roasted, ground, and used impart a bad taste to the coffee. ln my machine these defective beans are entirely separated. After passing all the screen-sections 25 the flow of berries escapes from the bed 22 at the rear end of themachine, being there exposed to the final effect' of suction in the last vertical passage 8. Se far as cleanliness and quality are concerned, the material isv ready for delivery; but l prefer to deliver it properly graded as to size. This is particularly desirable in the case of coffee. l have therefore combined with the cleaning and separating apparatus an automatic grading attachment operated from have shown three of such sections 39 41 42. '.lhey areof progressirely-increasing size of m'esh, so that the smallest berries can pass through the first section, an intermediate size through the second, a larger size through the third, and the largest size over and beyond the latter. Any number of screens can be used in the series, according to the extent of grading desired. l Beneath each screen is a hopper 43, having a discharge above an open trough 44, containing a conveyer 45. The cenveyer-shaft-LG may be conveniently driven, as shown in Fig. l, by a sprocket-chain 47 from the shaft of the upper conveyer ll. In the bottom of trough 44 are openings 48, having adjustable gates 49, so that the discharge of any grade of material can be regulated according to its supply. From the conveyertrough are in this manner delivered separate grades of thoroughly cleaned and graded coffee, grain, seeds, or whatever material has been treated.

l do not limit myself to the specific construction and arrangement herein described, and shown in the drawings, as I desire to avail -myself of suchy modifications and equivalents as fall properly within the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is4

1. in combination with an exhaust-chamber, legs depending' therefrom, a shaking bed beneath said legs, having openings therein adjacent to said legs, a pipe connected to said openings, a pressure-fan connected to said pipe, an outlet in said exhaust-chamber, outlet-casings also in said chamber adjacent to the legs, conveyers in said casings, and a main conveyer for receiving the material therefrom substantially as described.

2. ln combination with a cleaning-machine, an exhaust-chamber legs depending therefrom, an inclined shaking bed beneath said legs having openings therein adjacent the legs, a pressure-pipe connected with said openings, and a perforated inclined bedv for receiving the material from said shaking bed substantially as described.

3. ln combination with a cleaning-machine, an exhaust-chamber, legs depending therefrom, an inclined shaking bed having openings therein an air-pressure pipe connected with said openings, a perforated inclined bed below the first bed for receiving the material therefrom, hoppers below said perforated bed, a conveyer below said hoppers, valved openings therein below each hopper and means for shaking both beds substantially as described.

4. In combination with a cleaning-machine, an exhaust-chamber, legs depending therefrom, an inclined shaking bed beneath said legs, having openings therein, a pressure-pipe connected with said openings, a screen in the IIO inlet en d oi? said bed, e Second hed below the nature, in presence oiA two witnesses, this 18th h'rst bed and opposltely mehned Saudv hed be* day of May, 1902-3.

ing composed of sereensoi" 1 )1ogxoseively-en- CHAP-Lw; FRIGYE lau-ged mesh, a diselml'gehoppei' below each J' w' k i 5 screen and means for shaking both beds suly VJtueSses:

Stnntally as described. OSCAR F. WEBER,

1,11 testimony whereoil l have aiixed my Sig- L. W. Bumm. 

